Tom Lange wrote:

> Hi all,
> I live in an apartment in Los Angeles and have used either my old trusty
> Weber kettle or a gas grill out on my balcony for years, but my landlord has
> recently banned all barbecues on the premises. Apparently this has to do
> with fire regulations and insurance companies not covering landlords whose
> tenants use barbecues anywhere other than in a common area well away from
> any apartments. Last week someone got caught using one on his balcony and
> was served an eviction notice.
> Needless to say, I'm not at all pleased with having to put my Weber in
> storage, and I'm not particularly pleased about having to use the natural
> gas grill in the common area.
>
> Today I was reading about electric smokers and I was wondering if I might be
> able to get away with using a small residential electric smoker like a
> Cookshack or Smoketex out on my balcony. I prefer smoking to grilling
> anyway. For anyone other than a die-hard purist, would something like this
> work for pork ribs, chicken, tri-tip and brisket? If so, what's the best
> kind to consider and what features should I look for?
>
> I need my barbecue fix. Thanks for any helpful suggestions.


The insulated electric oven type cookers are perfect for your
situation. The better models have 1000 degree insulation and are
barely warm when running full on. This means they can be used
safely in confined areas. They also produce relatively
small amounts of smoke, so they don't attract much attention.

Technically they're ovens, so it's likely they don't
violate any regulations.

Of the foods you mentioned, they work well for everything
except tri-tip. Leave that one to grilling.

I've used Bradley, Smokintex and Cookshack. I've settled
on Cookshack. Highest quality, best design, and best
service.

--
Reg